4 Year Old Hospitalized After Being Bitten By a Pit Bull

[Flyinsbt]

Yes, BSL doesn't work, even if it's only special "regulations" for owning a certain breed. And this really doesn't sound like a very severe bite, I doubt it would be news if the dog in question were a Lab. I am not interested in owning child-biting dogs, but I don't think I'd be wanting to euthanize one of mine after an incident like that. The dog obviously used bite inhibition, it could have been much worse. Most likely, she wasn't socialized to children, and shouldn't have been put in that situation.

[JacksonsMom]

I cannot stand the 'the dog has NEVER done anything like that before!' people. It gives Pits even worse stereotypes in the general public. Because so many times I have heard people 'oh it's *always* "they would never do that/have never done that before!' when in actuality, there was most likely lots of signals and signs that stupid owners were too dumb to pick up on.

Sad though all around. I can't say I blame the dad for wanting the dog put down.

[Sweet72947]

I echo what everyone else has said about regulating a breed of dog. Look at the the UK, for example. The UK has had a pit bull ban for a while. Ok, so there are less bites there by "pit bulls". But I've seen plenty of articles about Akitas and mastiffs mauling/killing people over there. Last I checked, being mauled/killed is still being mauled/killed, regardless of the breed that does it.

[Dogdragoness]

Originally Posted by Tazwell

It seems like a relatively insignificant bite when you consider how small the girl probably was in relation to the size of the dog. It HARDLY seems news worthy!

I like how the owner was 'shocked', the dog has NEVER acted aggressively before! She just keeps him locked in a room just because.

I feel bad for everyone involved, especially the girl, but I'll bet the owner should have known better. Usually there are signs long before the dog ever bites anyone.

I disagree with this... the best dog i ever had (Izze) was a kid HATER & i mean H-A-T-E-R. if a child under the age of 7 would have "bent down" (which i thin there is more to the story then the media is leading on, since of course they want to demonize the dog, weather its a PB or not) she would have taken their face off in a second.

another reason i dont agree with this is the child was a GUEST. it was the OWNER'S house IMHO.... & i dont know about anyone else ... but in MY house its MY rules, why should my dogs have to be locked up? WATCH YOUR KID!

[JessLough]

Originally Posted by Dogdragoness

another reason i dont agree with this is the child was a GUEST. it was the OWNER'S house IMHO.... & i dont know about anyone else ... but in MY house its MY rules, why should my dogs have to be locked up? WATCH YOUR KID!

Nah... I think they were just being responsible dog owners and trying to keep their dog out of harms way.

[Dogdragoness]

yeah but its a two way street... i can do everything possible & if the parent or guardian doesnt do their 50%, then the dog will still be blamed ... in public places yes I will agree with you, but in my own house, if you dont like what the dog is doing, then you know where the gate is.

[JessLough]

Originally Posted by Dogdragoness

yeah but its a two way street... i can do everything possible & if the parent or guardian doesnt do their 50%, then the dog will still be blamed ... in public places yes I will agree with you, but in my own house, if you dont like what the dog is doing, then you know where the gate is.

Then don't invite people over...? I get the impression that this is somebody that was INVITED over, ie "come on over, I'll do whatever's possible to keep you and my dog safe"

[sassafras]

Yea I just don't want anyone getting bitten by my dogs... ahead of time I don't much care who puts "more" effort in or whether the division of labor is fair or not, nor would I take any comfort from it being the parents' "fault" after the fact if a bite happened.

[Dizzy]

Originally Posted by Sweet72947

I echo what everyone else has said about regulating a breed of dog. Look at the the UK, for example. The UK has had a pit bull ban for a while. Ok, so there are less bites there by "pit bulls". But I've seen plenty of articles about Akitas and mastiffs mauling/killing people over there. Last I checked, being mauled/killed is still being mauled/killed, regardless of the breed that does it.

This. Even the RSPCA and other organisations think it is a stupid knee jerk law. The bad owners just moved onto different breeds... Or carried on owning pits and calling them staffies.


Dogs bite, not breeds... And bad owners allow their dogs to bite.


If I have people in my home, I am SUPER vigilant. Bodhi is uber people orientated, but toddlers freak her out. There is no way I'd let her get anywhere near one unsupervised in an enclosed space. No way. And I like having my friends over... If they don't like my dogs, then ill try and accommodate them too, it's only a few hours out of their life. I'm lucky that my friends like my dogs though!

[AllisonPitbullLvr]

Originally Posted by Dogdragoness

yeah but its a two way street... i can do everything possible & if the parent or guardian doesnt do their 50%, then the dog will still be blamed ... in public places yes I will agree with you, but in my own house, if you dont like what the dog is doing, then you know where the gate is.

This is exactly WHY you need to have 110% control and management of these types of situations. Luckily, my dogs ate good with kids but they are really big and boisterous. My husbands cousin is dating a girl who has a toddler. When they come over, the mom completely neglects to watch her kids. So my dogs are locked upstairs in the bedroom. It won't kill them to be up there away from the stress of an annoying toddler, but biting that toddler in reaction to something he did to them while his parents aren't watching might. It's not worth the risk.

The fact is, you CAN'T control what other people do in any situation so the only option is to ensure that you do everything in your power to manage our dogs from your end. The owner in this story neglected to do so.